Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

My Lords, what a missed opportunity. What a sad smokescreen the Government are putting up to try to convince people that they are protecting the consumer. They are doing nothing of the sort. The policy became clear in the Minister’s last letter to me: it will be left to Europe to sort it out. That is where the action now is. I have no doubt that, just as we are having the energy report attached to the home information packs forced on us by Europe from 1 June this year, we will be standing here discussing this in a few years’ time saying that this is what Europe is doing to us on estate agents. The Government have sadly missed the opportunity, which is bad for the consumer. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.